Well, rather than doing a full amputation and taking it down to being a nub, you could probably leave something a bit longer. Like 1/2' of tail.* I've seen that done before. The dog still gets to have a tail, and no longer busts it. People (including vets) tend to forget that it doesn't have to be a full docking.

Would that be an option with this dog?

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* Usually about 1/3 length of dog's original tail length.